Aside from the lone antique finish NCLT issued set in 1998, which I believe to be the only other finish of Canadian issued coins (please correct me if I'm wrong and if Canada has issued such things as Reverse Proof, Enhanced Uncirculated, Matte Proof, Satin finish, etc., as US), the only issued finishes/minting processes for Canadian coins are MS, PL, SP, and PR.
The main purpose of this topic, and of my questions, are pertaining to the standard circulating denominations of Canadian coins, from the cent to the two dollar coin.
Starting with a simple one: Proofs were first issued in 1981, correct? No proof exists prior? And proofs are struck like they are in America, right? Double struck using slower speed on highly polished planchets and highly polished dies, later years exhibiting frosting whereas early years rarely/if ever contained frosting?
Next easy one: Mint State is standard business strikes. Struck once with standard speed on standard "dull" planchets, right? Circulation quality. We're all familiar with pocket change and what the finish looks like.
Really nothing fancy so far.
Specimen: From what I've gathered, the Specimen and Proof Like strikes were almost, if not identical (brilliant relief on brilliant background) until 1996. In 1996 and 1997, I've read that the specimen and proof like strikes were identical (brilliant relief on parallel lined background) And ever since then, specimen strikes are on lined background. From what I've gathered, Specimen strikes are sold often on
ebay and by uninformed dealers as "proof" coins before 1981, as they "look" like proofs.
Proof Like: Are these any different than the Mint State issues, other than they're sold as "proof like"? Are they actually any different? Is there any difference in the striking, on the planchets upon which they are struck, in the resulting finish? Can they be definitively differentiated? I get it, a MS-67 is worth considerably more than a PL-67 since PL are high grade to begin with and MS are issued for circulation, but aside from that "arbitrary" differentiation, if you had a raw coin, could one determine if it's MS or PL? This is my question: are they actually different? Is the resulting finish different? Or are they different in a more subtle manner?
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Proof like were also first issued in 1954? And proofs in 1981. When were specimens first issued?
I'm all kinds of confused. Help me understand Canadian coinage. The more detailed the better.
Posted 09/04/2017 9:33 pm
You forgot cameo, heavy cameo, and ultra heavy cameo. 
